


My Cherries and Wine

by maximumtrash



Series: The Moon's Serenade [3]
Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Banter, Cardan kinda has a pain kink and Jude likes goading him, Dom/sub Undertones, F/M, Hide and Seek, If You Squint - Freeform, Oral Sex, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Rough Sex, Vaginal Fingering, degradation kink, yeah they're definitely a married couple now can we get a round of applause
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-20 23:15:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20683556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maximumtrash/pseuds/maximumtrash
Summary: The fabric bunches up around her waist and he scrapes his nails up her inner thigh. Her hand shoots down to grab his wrist and she doesn't know whether it's to push him away or pull him further towards her. She doesn’t do either, yet. Cardan watches her hesitate beneath him, and he links their free hands together, lacing their fingers. He waits for her signal.It only takes Jude a small moment to gather herself and nod.Or: Cardan and Jude haven't had the time to be alone with each other in a while. They decide to play a game.





	My Cherries and Wine

**Author's Note:**

> This is just porn. Don't judge me.
> 
> Title from the song Cherry by Lana Del Rey. Give it a listen and you won't regret it.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! xx

Dawn passes outside the windows of the palace’s Council room. Jude, in a facetious manner, has designated said windows as her favorites for when she needs to space out during boring meetings. There is something about them that she likes. They have some extra flare or sparkle that suit her fancy compared to others in the room. Or, maybe, she just started to imagine they do because the repetitive arguments she has to listen to have started driving her insane over the last months.

So far, the day went exactly how she expected: Wake up, meet with the Bomb, sign papers, sit in the throne room (and hear what complaints the Folk have about her), spar as a way to release frustration, then attend this meeting with Cardan and have the rest of the night to herself. 

Of course, Council meetings never turn out to be simple, and she's been here for _ eons _ it seems. Her free time disappeared out those favorite windows, along with Jude’s attention, around hour four. 

She could tell when she walked in that this meeting would be longer than originally expected, even more so than usual. Cardan was already there, lazing in his designated, beautifully carved chair, at one end of the long, engraved table. He had his chin resting on his fist and his eyes were already glazed over. She sighed as she accepted her dull fate for the night.

Jude locked eyes with her husband when she sat down in her equally extravagant seat at the opposite end of the table. His gaze said _ please put me out of my misery. _ She raised a brow as a response, and the meeting began. 

Orlagh was discussed, along with Madoc, who promptly had any and all titles and privileges removed after Jude’s ascension to the crown and was being kept on close watch, along with any creature who might be keeping contact with him. Jude listened intently to these topics, but began to zone out at the mention of more mundane things. Honestly, she never would have imagined that she would let herself be idle in any part of her job as the High Queen, but talks of the woods and colors of the land get monotonous quickly. Eventually, the subject changes again to the most controversial issue of the last six months.

The Folk and their lasting resentment towards Jude. 

Really, over the short amount of time since she was crowned Queen, many of the fae have taken a liking to her. Much more and much sooner than she thought they would. The land has flourished and ancient beings have long settled with her new status, but there are still the stubborn creatures that despise her and threaten her life. 

Jude pretends she is confident in how safe she feels, but she knows she could be assassinated at any moment if they don't keep up with the constant precautions they've been taking, like the personal band of knights she has flanking her almost every waking moment. Even the enchanted clothing she wears that alerts her of potential ill intent any fae may have towards her when they get close enough doesn’t soothe the nerves. These meetings always focus on new measures that might be taken to ensure her and Cardan's safety and how to possibly quell the rage and unrest of their enemies. It's more of the same at this point. 

Jude has always been more involved with the meetings than Cardan, but damn it all if they don't bore her as much as they do her husband. She's dished out as many ideas as the rest of the Council, but they're running dry at this point. It’s been so figuratively beaten to death that she can almost genuinely smell the blood.

The underlying conclusion she's made is that it'll just take _ time. _

So she sits and listens for the first few hours of this, then she lets herself space out again. 

She adjusts her circlet, watches the sky, and feels the thrumming of the land as they drone on, her thoughts running about. 

_ Making sure everything not only runs, but runs _ smoothly, _ is much harder than it seems. _

Jude is good at juggling responsibilities and coming up with barely-successful plans, but running a kingdom correctly is like trying to stack jagged stones together a mile high without them falling over.

Even so, that being coupled with the threats thrown her way every day, she would be lying if she said she hasn't been enjoying her life as of late. The only thing she can't really stand is the fact that she sees Cardan much, much less than she expected she would. 

Sure, they rule together, and often see each other before bed, but they most often have different focuses in their duties, so they are not together much more than they are. 

She _ hates _ it. 

Once Jude figured out that they both simply enjoy each other's company, whether it be just having a conversation or reading near each other, she began missing him terribly every second they weren't together. It was frightening to be so attached to someone.

She knows so much more about him now. And he knows all about her. The thought that she has someone she can share herself with as they learn to live and heal together thrills her.

Even now, she smiles at the thought. 

Jude steals a glance at her husband across the table and finds him watching her. Cardan has a glint in his eyes that she doesn't quite recognize, which is disconcerting to her, and his mouth quirks up just a bit as she watches him. 

She feels butterflies in her stomach, and the next breath she takes hitches in her chest. 

_ When was the last time we even…? _

Too long, apparently. Jude's thoughts immediately turn to some of their previous escapades. It's hard for them not to.

Jude and Cardan had weeks of lively, fresh joy where they had ample time to explore each other. But then they got busier, and their time together quickly shifted to barely getting their hands on each other whenever possible. Now they're both so tired after long nights that the farthest they ever get is falling into bed, and occasionally into each other's arms, before sleep takes over.

Jude decides at this moment that she refuses to be tired today. Cardan, it seems, is on the same page.

"Are we done prolonging things, or shall we keep going and eventually arrive at the same conclusion as always: that there's nothing we can do right now," his voice cuts through whatever conversation was happening. The Council members either look annoyed or insulted. One of them speaks.

"If... the High King wishes to meet again another time—"

"He does," Cardan says, and he stands abruptly, chair scraping across the floor. Jude stands with him, but with better concealed bravado. 

The rest of the Council follows looking exasperated. Jude decides to simply leave without looking behind her. Cardan is right on her heels. 

Her heart is pounding, a smile tugging at her lips. They only make it a few corridors and turns away from the Council room before Jude spins to face him. He's mere inches from her, breathing heavily. 

They really _ are _ on the same page, now. 

But Jude doesn't want this to go the way some of their other trysts have: quick and dirty, so good but over too soon.

No, she wants to prolong this. 

So she leans into him, threads her hands through the hair at the nape of his neck and says, "I want to play a game."

Immediately,_ want _flashes in Cardan's eyes. 

"Oh?" He says, head tilting to the side. "What did you have in mind?"

Jude tightens her hands in his hair and pulls his mouth to hers. The kiss is rushed, all teeth and sharp exhales, a startling promise. When she pulls away, his lips chase hers, and something hot and dark spreads through her chest at the sight of him. His eyes shut, his mouth open, and she kisses him again.

Jude prides herself on many things. Lately, one of those is that she’s gotten much better at thieving, and she’s come to know that sly hands are very useful in all types of situations. In this moment, they work better than ever. She’s leaning towards his ear, mouth nipping along his jaw. Her hand is at the crown on his head and she slips it off without him even noticing.

With a smirk and one last kiss below his ear, she whispers, _ "Catch me." _

And she bolts. 

It takes Cardan a few moments, then Jude hears him chuckle from somewhere far behind her. She barely glances back as she rounds the corner into another hall, but she sees he hasn't moved.

_ Giving me a bit of a head start, then. _

Jude rips off her own crown, dislodging some of her hair from its braid, and runs faster, turning another corner, her leather slipper clad feet slapping against the floor. 

She really picked a horrible day to wear a dress. It’s a sheer, flowy one at that, pale green with stupid poofy sleeves and tiny embroidered flowers. But no matter, she works with what she's got. 

She gathers the front of her dress in one hand, both crowns in the other, and sprints into a room that leads into a stairwell. In there, she feels something in the air shift, and stops for a second. 

She knows Cardan must have started after her by now. She set no time limit, and he seemed impatient back there. Jude feels giddy, and takes a moment to be glad that the faeries living in the palace should be asleep soon. It means less obstacles to watch out for. She ascends the stairs and slips into a library there. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she the Roach told her there was a secret passageway in this room, but she has no clue where, so she starts feeling around the walls and bookcases for anything strange. Jude finds the hidden latch by one of the smaller shelves in the back of the room surprisingly easily. What she learned during her time with the Court of Shadows stays with her.

As she steps into the tunnel, Jude thinks of Cardan catching her in here.

Exhilarating panic shoots through her chest and desire pools deep in her. Jude almost regrets not giving him any instructions. Anything she said he would have followed with no thoughts of cheating. She could have given herself an advantage in this little game, but she didn’t. She loves a challenge, especially one where the odds are against her. And they definitely are right now.

Cardan is a creature of the night; a boy who blends with shadows, and though there is daylight shining through the sparse windows of the palace, there are more dark spaces than bright for him to creep through. 

It is impossible for her to outrun him. But she will try to out maneuver him. All at once, this game becomes real, and she desperately wants to win. 

She makes her was through the tunnel as quickly as she feels comfortable, and pushes the door open on the other side. When she closes it behind her, she realizes she's in the opposite side of the palace, and she grins. Bless those secret passageways.

Jude doesn't linger. She runs out of the room she's in and almost smacks into a royal guard in the hall.

"Your Grace—" the knight says to her, but she's already darting away, dress whipping out behind her. Another staircase comes into view in one of the Northern entrance halls, but it's grand and exposed. She has the option to continue to the corridor on the other side of the room or take her chances with the stairs. 

She chooses the latter. 

Her footsteps echo in the empty room, one that isn't used much company because it's a part of the palace that’s bare except for some hidden gardens, which she thinks would be too obvious for her to head towards, so, stairs it is. She's nearing the top when she feels a prickling on the back of her neck and her heart stops as well as her feet. Her chest heaves from the excitement. There’s sweat on her brow and her skin feels a little too tight. Her hand twitches around the crowns in her grasp. She steels herself before glancing back over her shoulder. 

Sure enough, Cardan stands at the base of the stairs, a smirk planted on his face.

She moves again before she's even thinking, increasing her speed, heart beating out of her ribs.

She should have heard him coming, but she knows he can erase all sounds of his movements if he wants to. 

_ Creature of the night. _

She barrels through a door to her left and finds herself in a pair of empty apartments. Skirting around a chair in her way, she runs through to the other room and freezes. 

It's just a study. There's no other way out this way as she had hoped. She turns around and confirms what she already knows: she's trapped herself. One way in, one way out. 

And that's when Cardan appears out of thin air, silent as a cat, in the doorway she just ran through across the room. Intoxicating delight spikes through her blood, and her mind is screaming _ runrunrunrun— _

So she does, and a terrified giggle escapes her without her permission. She leaps over a low stool and scrambles behind a desk at the far end of the room, breath coming in shallow bursts, before she whips around to face the study door, her back to the wall. 

Her hair has come loose from its braid, her skin is tingling all over and her stomach drops when she sees Cardan standing in the middle of the room.

He has triumph in his eyes along with something else that's deep and predatory. 

Jude swallows. 

Her only way out is if he comes for her and she somehow makes it around him.

Again, she curses her dress. She'd have a much better chance if she was wearing trousers like he is.

Neither of them move. Jude's heart is in her throat. 

_ Come on, come on, come on— _

Still, he doesn't budge, just looks at her like he's a wolf salivating over a kill. 

A jittery feeling takes over her limbs. She feels a pang of fear, which she knows is ridiculous, but she can't help it. 

Honestly, Cardan can be terrifying. She used to not let herself forget that.

The toe of his boot moves forward an inch and Jude flinches. Cardan _ laughs. _ He's messing with her. She feels a spike of anger. 

He does it again, inches his foot forward, and that’s all it takes for Jude to sprint to her right and for Cardan to move after her. She knocks over a table and chair to put obstacles between them before running as hard as she can into the other room and towards her chance to escape, but she barely makes in ten feet before she feels arms suddenly squeezing around her like a snake. 

Jude shouts, the sound a strange mixture of shock and excitement, and tries pushing at his arms. 

No luck there.

He swings her around and carries her back into the room of their minuscule showdown, all the while she scrambles to get free.

He drops her in front of one of the bookshelves, and she barely has time to regain her footing before he's got her pressed up against it, books digging into her back, his body trapping hers. She releases her hold on their crowns, lets them clatter on the floor, and tries wriggling away from him, but goes still when his teeth are suddenly at her neck. 

Her pulse is beating wildly, anticipation too high, and he drags his teeth to her ear.

"Caught you," he whispers, then withdraws to look her in the eyes. "Do make it harder for me next time." 

Jude scoffs. The smile he gives her is wicked. 

She jerks her chin at him. 

"You assume this will happen again?"

He looks at her lips.

"I know it will."

"Asshole," she says with an eye roll.

"What an inappropriate word for a _ queen _ to say."

"Oh, fuck you, Cardan."

"Yes, please," He responds and rolls his hips into hers. Jude gasps. 

He is so _ annoying. _ So incredibly insufferable and irritating and beautiful and she loves him _ so _ much. 

She closes that last bit of distance between them with a searing kiss. He pushes her back against the bookcase even harder and she bites his bottom lip in retaliation. She tries to get her hands on him, but it's hard with their proximity and the way he's caging her in, so she attempts tugging at his shirt where it's tucked into his trousers, but it doesn't work either. 

Cardan grinds his hips again, then pulls away just enough to sneak a hand between them to yank her skirts up. Jude's breath stutters from her chest.

The fabric bunches up around her waist and he scrapes his nails up her inner thigh. Her hand shoots down to grab his wrist and she doesn't know whether it's to push him away or pull him further towards her. She doesn’t do either, yet. Cardan watches her hesitate beneath him, and he links their free hands together, lacing their fingers. He waits for her signal.

It only takes Jude a small moment to gather herself and nod.

Cardan goes straight for her underwear, moving the fabric aside to run his fingers over her as he attaches his mouth to her neck again.

Jude throws her head back at the sudden contact. Cardan nips at her skin in response.

He drags his fingers slowly through her folds and says, "Look at you, you're so wet for me." 

Jude doesn't know if she hates or loves it when he talks like this. She says nothing back.

He mouths at her jaw. "You liked me chasing you."

To this, she huffs. 

Without warning, he pushes two fingers into her. A small, choked noise escapes her at the feeling. 

"You wanted me to catch you, didn't you?" His thumb moves over her clit as he works his fingers in and out. 

"Shut up," she mumbles. He pulls back to look at her.

"Make me, Jude," he curls his fingers, and sparks fly behind her eyes.

_ Annoying. _

Jude rises to his challenge immediately and tugs his hand from her center, her fist tight around his wrist. Cardan raises an eyebrow as she brings it to her face. 

When she licks long and slow over the fingers he just had inside her, it seems like all the breath rushes out of him. His stares at her lips as she takes both of them in her mouth and sucks languidly, tongue flicking in between and swirling around. 

Yeah, that shut him right up. 

His eyelids grow heavy, lashes grazing his cheeks, and his mouth parts at her ministrations. 

_ He's so easy. _

Jude takes advantage of his distraction to unlink their hands, pull her mouth away, and shove him _ hard. _

He stumbles backward a few paces and continues to retreat as Jude advances. She corners him right into the desk she hid behind earlier and can't help but smile. 

Now it's her turn. 

His mouth clamps shut when she reaches for his trousers and starts undoing buttons and laces. She pulls his shirt loose and unceremoniously shoves her hand down his pants to wrap around his cock. 

Cardan gasps and puts his hands behind him on the desk for purchase.

She _ loves _ him like this. As soon as she touches him, it’s like a weight lifts from his shoulders, and suddenly he's soft dough in her palms; malleable and delicious. They both prefer it when she's in charge. 

"Come on, Cardan, hard already?" She says as she fully pulls him from his pants. He closes his eyes and doesn't answer. Jude sinks to her knees.

"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy our game just as much as I did," and with that she licks from the base of his cock all the way to the tip. One of Cardan's hands immediately threads in her hair as he takes a steadying breath. Jude continues teasing him with her tongue, all the while his thighs are steel beneath her palms.

Jude's waiting for him to beg. She can’t always get him to, but this time they’re both riled up. 

So she keeps her pace. Slowly, Cardan's jaw unlocks and his mouth falls open, and eventually his eyes lock with hers, then her mouth. His breathing is erratic as she places open-mouthed kisses on him from tip to base, and runs her fingers lightly over him in the wetness she leaves behind. 

Finally, she hears what she’s been waiting for.

Cardan chokes on a noise that sounds like a whine, then says, "Jude," and it's heavy, breathless. "Jude, _ please." _

And Jude complies. Her lips wrap around his cock and she sinks onto him, one hand wrapping around what she can't reach. 

She's knows, deep down, she’s not the best at this, but she's had time to practice and learn what he likes. She loves watching him get worked up because of her. So, despite lacking some skills, she is incredibly enthusiastic in this act. 

She takes him in as far as she dares and twists her hand as she goes, then sucks lightly as she withdraws, and repeats. She pauses at some points just to see his reaction and give herself a break, and Cardan looks increasingly desperate every time. She does this again now and his cock jumps. A shaky breath leaves him and his hips jerk toward her. 

Jude's confidence boosts at this, and she feels entirely smug at his reactions. She revels in this power over him. 

Her mouth is moving again, sinking lower than she has yet to go, and Cardan makes a sound like he got all the air knocked out of him. Jude hums around him, taunting and teasing. On her way back up for air, she makes sure to drag her tongue along the bottom of him and press her thumb into the junction of his thigh just the way he likes, and sure enough, Cardan moans brokenly, and his chest curls over her, head hanging low, hands in her hair pulling himself deeper into her mouth. 

_ He's close. _

As soon as the realization comes to her, she pulls off of him completely and stands. His hands fall from her hair and grip the desk again, hard enough that she's sure the wood will certainly snap, but it doesn't. Jude trails a hand from his navel to his chest, muscles jumping underneath her touch, and grips his jaw tightly between her fingers. It takes him a moment to come back to himself long enough to look at her, his eyes thoroughly glazed over. 

Jude leans up, mouth close to his.

"Fuck me," she commands.

Cardan puts his unnerving speed to good use, then. 

He grips Jude at her hips and _ lifts. _ Within seconds, he has her on the desk, his shirt and pants all off, and he's kissing her breathlessly. 

Jude is seriously impressed, and so turned on that she aches. 

Cardan doesn’t bother with removing her clothes, he just tears her underwear in half, throws the pieces on the floor, and hikes her dress up. She leans back on her elbows. 

Jude's throbbing in anticipation and is more aroused than she can remember ever being. It's been much too long since they've had time alone together; time to do this. 

Before she can tell him again, Cardan pulls her hips to the edge of the desk and pushes into her in in one stroke, completely to the hilt. They both groan at the feeling. There’s something about that first connection that drives Jude insane _ every _ time, like she’s being lit on fire from the inside out and she _ needs _ him to keep going, going, going—

_ Yesyesyesyes— _

Cardan pulls back and thrusts forward carefully, then begins a fast pace that has her toes curling in seconds. Her nails scratch at the wood of the desk. He feels good, so good, _ so good. _ She keeps looking from their joined bodies, where his cock disappears into her over and over, to his face, where he watches only her, brow furrowed, lips glistening.

He's waiting for something. Waiting for her to speak, or move, or—

He gives a particularly hard thrust and she moans, mouth hanging open. She catches his eyelids fluttering at her reaction. 

_ Ah, _ she knows what he wants. 

"Come on, Cardan," she pants. "Harder."

His next breath catches in his throat and he increases his pace. Jude locks her ankles around his waist and pushes herself up to lean on her hands. She knows she must look as wrecked as he does, but she doesn't give a damn. Cardan's hands splay on the desk near hers, their faces close.

"You can do better than that," she says into his mouth as she brings a hand up to tug on the jewelry in his ears, her calves squeezing his slender hips. 

Cardan moans, and she can see his tail flick behind him. He puts both his hands on her hips as an anchor and begins _ really _ fucking her. 

Jude loses herself in white-hot pleasure for a moment. The hand she had on his ears grips the back of his neck, her eyes squeeze shut. She throws her head back, broken moans escaping her.

But she gathers herself and leans up again putting her mouth to his neck. Jude rakes her nails down his chest and she can't tell if the sound he makes is one of pain or pleasure. 

_ "Harder," _ she demands against his skin. 

Cardan groans above her, his grip on her is hard enough to bruise. His tail winds around his own arm restlessly, then around one of her ankles, slipping across her skin. He lifts her hips now and tugs her to him with each thrust. 

Jude's mouth falls open but no sound comes out. She can't catch her breath and all she can focus on is the feel of skin slapping on skin and the sounds Cardan is making and she's so overwhelmed that she really, accidentally, _ bites _ into his neck. 

Cardan just _ whines. _

Jude's arm behind her loses balance on the desk and she collapses onto it, the small of her back right on the edge, and Cardan comes down with her, back bent over her body. 

This is absolutely feral, what they're doing, and Jude loves every bit of it. She's vaguely aware of him bleeding and what that might do to her mouth but she doesn't care, all she can focus on is how their chests touch and his cheeks are flushed and his lips are swollen and the way her hips feel like they'll crack under his grip and the building pressure in her belly. She reaches to grab onto Cardan's forearm as a way to ground herself but she doesn't get to come back to reality because as soon as her hand closes around his arm, his brows screw up and he's moving his shaking hand down to where their bodies meet and he’s swiping his thumb over her clit and she's _ gone. _

She's pretty sure she screams. 

And it takes Cardan all of three more strokes before his face is buried in her neck, his voice stuttering over something like a sob as he follows her over the edge.

They stay like that, intertwined, spasms wracking their bodies, all the while Jude runs her hands soothingly over Cardan's skin and through his hair.

They've barely been recovering for even a minute before Cardan shatters the glow.

"Thought I was—" his chest heaves against hers, "—going to die—in that meeting."

It catches her off guard. Jude laughs so hard and suddenly that she wheezes. 

Cardan laughs too.

He's still catching his breath when he untangles himself from her and lifts her to her feet with him. Jude winces. She's already sore. 

"We should cut our meetings short more often, don't you think?" Jude says while tracing a finger over his jaw. He leans into her touch.

"Mmm. Maybe next time you'll give me a challenge,” he says, voice sickly sweet with a cocky smile on his face. 

Jude rolls her eyes and tries her hardest not to beam right back at him. It doesn't work. 

_ So, so annoying. _

She loves him more than anything.

**Author's Note:**

> Cardan is a sub and likes being bossed around you can't convince me otherwise. Come find me on tumblr at [toartemis](https://toartemis.tumblr.com)


End file.
